Soldiers homecoming planned on Monday in Streamwood
After spending eight months deployed in Afghanistan, members of an Elgin-based Illinois Army National Guard unit will arrive home Monday, and the community is invited to come out and show their appreciation.
The soldiers and their families will reunite at a homecoming ceremony the morning of Monday, July 27, outside Streamwood High School, on Schaumburg Road just east of Route 59.
Local officials encourage the public to show up before 10 a.m., with U.S. flags in hand, along Route 59, Schaumburg Road, and near Streamwood High School's football field and west entrance. The soldiers will arrive from Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin, escorted by the Patriot Guard Riders. Organizers say the arrival time could be delayed but encourage people to arrive early.
That ceremony is among five the Army has planned around the state to welcome back more than 300 soldiers who served as part of the war as part of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
"I think it's just a celebration of a culmination of a very long, stressful year for the families," said Grayslake's Lisa Guerrero.
Guerrero's husband, Sgt. 1st Class Jose Guerrero, will be among the 110 soldiers returning to Streamwood. He left home in August before his October deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom with Company B, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry, based in Elgin.
Guerrero has also been deployed in Iraq and Germany. He has five children, one of which is a member of the Army's Delta Force.
Lisa Guerrero is helping organize Monday's event as the company's Family Readiness Group Leader. She said having her husband away for three tours of duty gives her faith in his soldiering skills.
"I quickly get into my routine after the first and the second," she said. "And the third, you just kind of go into autopilot mode. You know what you have to do and how to get through the day."
Her duties include informing families about veterans' benefits and counseling opportunities and putting together social events.
The company helped form Task Force Bayonet, whose mission, according to the Army, included constructing three schools, a bridge and irrigation systems. They also patrolled areas the American military hadn't been to in years.